Monday, April 5, 2010

2010 Year in Preview: AL East Wrapup

Without further ado...

Top AL East Prospect:

Jesus Montero. The best hitting prospect the Yankees have had since Jeter, the best prospect in the AL East, and maybe the best hitting prospect in all of baseball now that Heyward is in the majors. Montero will begin the year at Triple-A Scranton, and we'll be following him all year in our Prospect Watch.

AL East Projected Standings

PECOTA:

Boston Red Sox, 96-66, 847 RS, 687 RA

New York Yankees, 91-71, 859 RS, 748 RA

Tampa Bay Rays, 91-71, 817 RS, 708 RA

Baltimore Orioles, 78-84, 798 RS, 836 RA

Toronto Blue Jays, 72-90, 732 RS, 837 RA

CHONE:

New York Yankees, 99-63

Boston Red Sox, 93-69

Tampa Bay Rays 88-74

Baltimore Orioles, 75-87

Toronto Blue Jays, 68-94

A few things stick out to me here. For one, both systems hate Toronto a great deal. Secondly, CHONE skews a bit more pessimistic on Tampa. Thirdly, the top of the division looks to be a tossup between two very well-built teams, Boston and New York.